A favorite cold and refreshing food treat for many people is known as a “float.” Floats typically include a beverage, such as root beer or orange soda, and a frozen dessert, such as ice cream or frozen yogurt, placed together in a glass. The person enjoying the float may, for example, eat the ice cream with a spoon, or drink the beverage with or without a straw. For some, a float combines the refreshment of a beverage with the cool relief of a frozen dessert all in one, with a combination of flavors being superior to either individually.
However, when making floats, a problem can arise when mixing the frozen treat with a beverage. Root beer, orange soda, and other beverages, especially carbonated beverages, tend to foam up significantly when poured from a can or bottle into a glass containing ice cream or another frozen treat. Sometimes, the beverage may fill only a fraction of the glass, while the foam rises to fill and even spill over the top of the glass. This creates a mess, as the foam may spill out. It also makes it difficult to pour as much of the beverage into the glass as is desired, without taking time or effort to remove the foam or cause the foam to subside, either by waiting for the foam's bubbles to burst, or by using a utensil of some sort to reduce or remove the foam. This dirties more utensils, takes time, increases the mess, and usually still leaves a substantial amount of foam beyond the desired amount.
Even if the beverage is poured in the glass before adding the frozen treat, the beverage can foam up, and it may splash when poured and cause a mess. The amount of foam may sometimes diminish somewhat if the beverage bottle or can is cooled before the beverage comes in contact with the frozen treat. However, foaming still occurs even if the beverage is cooled, and it is often desired to make a float using a beverage when there has been no time or opportunity to cool the beverage can or bottle in advance of making the float.
It is thus desirable to have a method of making floats that reduces the amount of foam in the float produced by the carbonated beverage with a minimum of effort and mess.